Nail-pulling attachment for hammers



(No Model.)

W. A. 8: P. S. NOB-TON. NAIL PULLING ATTACHMENT FOR HAMMERS.

No. 551,993. Patented" Dec. 24, 1-895.

WITNESSES.

V /NVENTOHS ATTORNEYS;

UNITED STATES PATENT- rrrcn.

\VILLIAM A. NORTON AND FRANK S. NORTON, OF PORT RICHMOND, NEW YORK.

NAIL-P ULLING ATTACHMENT FOR HAMMERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 551,993, dated December 24, 1895.

Application filed April 23, 1895.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, XVILLIAM A. NORTON and FRANK S. NORTON, of Port Richmond, in the county of Richmond and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nail-Pulling Attachments for Hammers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to a nail-pulling attachment for hammers; and its object is to provide a simple device for pulling long nails without bending them, and to so construct such attachment that it will be readily applied to and removed from hammers of the customary pattern, so that the hammer can be used without the attachment in all cases where the bulk of the attachment would interfere with the proper use of the hammer.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter, and the features of novelty pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an ordinary hammer with our nail-pulling attachment applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the attachment.

In carrying out our invention, we provide an attachment comprising parts adapted to engage the hammer-head and means for se curing said attachment to the hammer.

As illustrated in the drawings, the attachment is made with an arched body A having an end portion A engaging the hammer-head adjacent to the claws B of the said hammerhead O, and the outer surface of the body is so curved that it substantially forms a continuation of that surface of the claws B which in pulling a nail is engaged with the article from which the nail is to be extracted. (See Fig. 1.) The oppositev or rear end A of the body A is curved downwardly so that when the attachment is applied to a hammer said rear end is carried to an engagement with the heel D of the hammer-head, and preferably the end A has a transversely-curved recess A to partly straddle the heel D, as shown in Fig. 1.

In order to secure the attachment upon the Serial No. 546,896. (No model.)

hammer, we provide the body A at its middle with two spaced arms A which extend in substantially the same direction as the ends A and A that is, toward the han1n1er-head and the said arms are connected at their lower ends by a half-socket A, which is open at one side so as to allow the attachment to be fitted on the hammer-head by sliding it longitudinally over the head, while that part of the socket which extends across from one arm to the other is adapted for engagement with the rear face of the hammer-shank E, preferably at such point where the shank is provided with a shoulder or an inclined portion E, so that the said shoulder or inclined portion will form a stop to prevent the upward movement of the attachment. One of the arms A is provided with an aperture adapted to receive a set-screw F, whose head F may be provided with a hole F through which a suitable tool may be passed when it is desired to turn the set-screw.

We have already described the manner of applying the attachment to the hammer, and the manner of removing it will be understood without further explanation. The advantage of the attachment for the purpose of extracting long nails will be obvious. If the hammer were used without the attachment, the fulcrum-that is, the point of contact between the head and the article from which the nail is to be pulled-wou1d very soon be so shifted that the nail would be bent. The attachment at its end A, however, provides an extension of the surface of the claws B, and thus as the fulcrum is shifted, the strain on the nail remains approximately longitudinal, so that the nail will not be bent. Furthermore, as the leverage is much increased over the leverage available with an ordinary hammer, the pressure at the fulcrum will be reduced, and the article against which the attachment bears will not be defaced. The set-screw F and the socket A prevent any accidental movement of the attachment relativelyto the hammer, while when it is desired to use the hammer for driving nails in places difficult of access, where the attachment might interfere with the proper use of the tool, the attachment may readily be taken off.

We desire it to be understood that various dle of the said body and connected at the rear portion of their free or lower ends, the arms being adapted to engage the sides of the hammer shank and the portion connecting the lower end of the arms being adapted to engage the rear of the shank, and a fastening device located upon one of the side arms and adapted to engage the hammer shank, substantially as described.

2. An attachment for hammers, comprising an arched body having end portions adapted for engagement with the upper surface of the hammer head, the front end having its outer surface curved to form substantiallya eontinuation of the hammer claws and the rear end having a transversely curved recess whereby it is adapted to fit upon the heel of the hammer head, side arms extending from the middle of the said body and connected at the rear portion of their free or lower ends, the arms being adapted to engage the sides of th e hammer shank and the portion connecting the lower end of the arms being adapted to engage the rear of the shank, and a set screw extending through one of the said arms, substantially as described.

WILLIAM A. NORTON. FRANK S. NORTON.

\Vitnesses:

\VILLIAM LAWSON, JOHN RUTZ, Jr. 

